Sandal

ABSTRACT

A sandal has a removable strap and a sole. The removable strap has a first end and a second end. Each of the first end and the second end having a clip. The sole has a front edge, a read edge, a first side edge, a second side edge, a stop surface and a bottom surface. Each of the first side edge and the second side edge have a clip receiver. The clip receiver on the first side edge and the clip receiver on the second side edge are positioned opposite to each other. Each of the clip receivers is positioned between the top surface and the bottom surface of the sole such that they are positioned entirely within the sole. The clip receiver is mateable with the clip.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates generally to a sandal, more particularly it relates to a sandal with interchangeable straps.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

It is common for the soles of sandals to have a longer usable life than the straps. When the straps become damaged or snap, the sandals are generally replaced despite the sole still being in good, usable condition. This results in unnecessary waste. Wearer's may also feel obligated to purchase multiple pairs of sandals in different colors or designs to allow for coordination with various outfits.

BRIEF SUMMARY

There is provided a sandal that has a removable strap and a sole. The removable strap has a first end and a second end. Each of the first end and the second end has a clip. The sole has a front edge, a rear, edge, a first side edge, a second side edge, a top surface and a bottom surface. Each of the first side edge and the second side edge have a clip receiver. The clip receiver on the first side edge and the clip receiver on the second side edge are positioned opposite to each other. The clip receiver on the first side edge and the clip receiver on the second side edge are positioned between the top surface and the bottom surface of the sole such that the clip receivers are positioned entirely within the sole. The clip receivers are mateable with the clips.

In one embodiment, the clip receivers are positioned along an axis.

In one embodiment, the clip receivers are connected by a connection band positioned within the sole.

In one embodiment, the clip has a notch that corresponds to a notch receiver on the clip receiver.

In one embodiment, the notch is positioned on the end of the clip opposite the strap.

In one embodiment, the notch receiver has a notch lock.

In one embodiment, the notch lock has a top and a bottom that are non-linear.

In one embodiment, the top and the bottom of the notch lock are non-uniform.

In one embodiment, the bottom of the notch lock has a first shoulder and the top of the notch lock has a second shoulder and a third shoulder. The first shoulder is positioned to one side of the second shoulder and the third shoulder.

In one embodiment, the top of the notch lock has a first shoulder and the bottom of the notch lock has a second shoulder and a third shoulder. The first shoulder is positioned to one side of the second shoulder and the third shoulder.

In one embodiment, the strap comprises a first portion and a second portion. The first portion and the second portion being connectable by a connector such as a hook and loop fastener, buckle and strap or any other connector known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which references are made to the following drawings, in which numerical references denote like parts. The drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiments shown.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, partially in section, of the sandal.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of the sandal

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of a clip

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of the clip shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a clip receiver.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, in section, of the clip receiver in the sandal.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view, in section, of the sandal.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the clip receivers connected together.

FIG. 10 is a detailed view of a clip receiver.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the clip receiver along line A-A of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a detailed view of the clip with a locking notch.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of the clip along line B-B of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of an alternative clip receiver.

FIG. 15 is a side elevation view, in section, of the alternative clip receiver shown in FIG. 14 in the sandal.

FIG. 16 is a detailed view of the alternative clip receiver shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a detailed view of an alternative clip with a locking notch.

FIG. 18 is a detailed view of the alternative clip along line E-E of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a detailed view of the alternative clip receiver along line A-A of FIG. 16.

FIG. 20 is a detailed view of the alternative clip receiver along line B-B of FIG. 16.

FIG. 21 is a detailed view of the alternative clip receiver along line C-C of FIG. 16.

FIG. 22 is a detailed view of the alternative clip receiver along line D-D of FIG. 16.

FIG. 23 is a detailed view of an alternative clip receiver.

FIG. 24 is a top plan view, partially in section, of a sandal having a removable strap with two portions.

FIG. 25 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of a sandal with alternative straps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A sandal, generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 25.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a sandal 10 has a removable strap 12 and a sole 14. Referring to FIG. 1, removable strap 12 has a first end 16 and a second end 18. First end 16 has a clip 20 and second end 18 has a clip 22. Sole 14 has a front edge 24 that corresponds to the edge of sandal 10 closest to the wearer's toe, and a rear edge 26 that corresponds to the edge of sandal 10 closest to the wearer's heel. Sole also has a first side edge 28 that corresponds to the edge of sandal 10 closest to the inside of the wearer's foot and a second side edge 30 that corresponds to the edge of sandal 10 closest to the outside of the wearer's foot. Referring to FIG. 2, sole 14 further has a top surface 32 that corresponds to the surface to which the sole of the wearer's foot can contact and a bottom surface 34 that corresponds to the surface of sole 14 that contacts the ground. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that sole 14 may be any suitable shape that provides a surface to which the sole of the wearer's foot can contact. First side edge 28 and second side edge 30 each have a clip receiver 36. Clip receiver 36 on first side edge 28 is positioned opposite to clip receiver 32 on second side edge 30. Referring to FIG. 1, clip receivers 32 are positioned along an axis 38 which is positioned between front edge 24 and rear edge 26. Axis 38 intersects first side edge 28 and second side edge 30. Clip receivers 36 are positioned between top surface 32 and bottom surface 34 of sole 14 such that clip receivers 36 are positioned entirely within sole 14. Clip receivers 36 are mateable with clips 20 and 22. In the embodiment shown, clip receivers 36 are positioned closer to bottom surface 34 of sole 14 than to top surface 32 of sole 14.

Referring to FIG. 3 through FIG. 5, clip 22 is shown. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that clip 20 may be substantially the same as clip 22. Clip 22 has a strap attachment end 40 and a bulbous mating end 42. Strap attachment end 40 and bulbous mating end 42 are attached together by a neck 44.

Referring to FIG. 6 through FIG. 8, clip receiver 26 that corresponds to clip 22 is shown. Clip receiver 26 has an outer body 46 with a hollow interior 48 and an entrance aperture 50. Shape of hollow interior 48 corresponds to shape of bulbous mating end 42 and entrance aperture 50 substantially corresponds to shape of neck 44. At least one of clip receiver 26 and clip 22, shown in FIG. 3, are flexibly resilient to allow for mating between clip receiver 26 and clip 22. Referring to FIG. 9, clip receivers 26 are attached together by a connection band 52. Referring to FIG. 8, connection band 52 extends through sole 14 between top surface 32 and bottom surface 34. Connection band 52 helps to prevent clip receivers 26 from being pulled out of sole 14 when clips 20 and 22, shown in FIG. 2, are removed from clip receivers 26.

Referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, an alternative clip receiver 126 is shown. Clip receiver 126 has an outer body 146 with a hollow interior 148, an entrance aperture 150 and a notch receiver 152. Referring to FIG. 12 through FIG. 15, an alternative clip 122 is shown that is mateable with clip receiver 126. Clip 122 has a strap attachment end 140 and a bulbous mating end 142. Strap attachment end 140 and bulbous mating end 142 are attached together by a neck 144. A notch 154 is positioned on bulbous mating end 142 such that when clip receiver 126, shown in FIG. 11, and clip 122 are mated, notch 154 extends into notch receiver 152, shown in FIG. 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, notch 154 is positioned on the end of clip 122 opposite strap 12. Referring to FIG. 11, shape of hollow interior 148 corresponds to shape of bulbous mating end 142, shown in FIG. 13, and entrance aperture 150 substantially corresponds to shape of neck 144, shown in FIG. 13. At least one of clip receiver 126 and clip 122, shown in FIG. 13, are flexibly resilient to allow for mating between clip receiver 126 and clip 122.

Referring to FIG. 19 through FIG. 22, an alternative clip receiver 226 is shown. Clip receiver 226 has an outer body 246 with a hollow interior 248, an entrance aperture 250 and a notch receiver 252. Referring to FIG. 16, notch receiver 252 has a notch lock 256. Notch lock 256 has a top 258 and a bottom 260 that are non-linear. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 16, bottom 260 has a first shoulder 262 and top 258 has a second shoulder 264 and third shoulder 266. First shoulder 260 is positioned to one side of second shoulder 264 and third shoulder 266. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that more or fewer shoulders may be used and may also be positioned in different locations on top 258 and bottom 260. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 23, a notch lock 270 has a top 272 and a bottom 274. Top 272 has a first shoulder 276 and bottom 274 has a second shoulder 278 and a third shoulder 280. First shoulder 276 is positioned to one side of second shoulder 278 and third shoulder 280. Referring to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, an alternative clip 222 is shown that is mateable with clip receiver 226. Clip 222 has a strap attachment end 240 and a bulbous mating end 242. Strap attachment end 240 and bulbous mating end 242 are attached together by a neck 244. A notch 254 is positioned on bulbous mating end 242 such that when clip receiver 226, shown in FIG. 19, and clip 222 are mated, notch 254 extends into notch receiver 252, shown in FIG. 19. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 18, notch 254 is positioned on the end of clip 222 opposite strap 12. Referring to FIG. 19, shape of hollow interior 248 corresponds to shape of bulbous mating end 242, shown in FIG. 18, and entrance aperture 250 substantially corresponds to shape of neck 244, shown in FIG. 18. In the present embodiment, clip 222, shown in FIG. 18, is flexibly resilient to allow for mating between clip receiver 226 and clip 222. Clip receiver 226 may also be flexibly resilient.

Referring to FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, removable strap 12 has a first portion 60 and a second portion 62. First portion and second portion are connectable by a connector 64. In the embodiment shown, connector 64 is a hook and loop fastener, however it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that a buckle and strap, laces or any other suitable connector may be used.

Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the subject elements, and may also include indirect interaction between the elements such as through secondary or intermediary structure unless specifically stated otherwise.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative embodiments, while falling within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sandal, comprising: a removable strap having a first end and a second end, each of the first end and the second end having a clip; a sole having a front edge, a rear edge, a first side edge, a second side edge, a top surface and a bottom surface, each of the first side edge and the second side edge having a clip receiver, the clip receiver on the first side edge and the clip receiver on the second side edge are positioned opposite to each other, each of the clip receivers being positioned between the top surface and the bottom surface of the sole such that the clip receivers are positioned entirely within the sole, the clip receiver being mateable with the clips.
 2. The sandal of claim 1 wherein the clip receivers are positioned along an axis.
 3. The sandal of claim 1 wherein the clip receivers are connected by a connection band positioned within the sole.
 4. The sandal of claim 1 wherein the clip has a notch that corresponds to a notch receiver on the clip receiver.
 5. The sandal of claim 4 wherein the notch is positioned on the end of the clip opposite the strap.
 6. The sandal of claim 4 wherein the notch receiver has a notch lock.
 7. The sandal of claim 6 wherein the notch lock has a top and a bottom that are non-linear.
 8. The sandal of claim 6 wherein the top and the bottom of the notch lock are non-uniform.
 9. The sandal of claim 6 wherein the bottom of the notch lock has a first shoulder and the top of the notch lock has a second shoulder and a third shoulder, the first shoulder being positioned to one side of the second shoulder and third shoulder.
 10. The sandal of claim 6 wherein the top of the notch lock has a first shoulder and the bottom of the notch lock has a second shoulder and a third shoulder, the first shoulder being positioned to one side of the second shoulder and third shoulder.
 11. The sandal of claim 1 wherein the strap comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion being connectable by a connector.
 12. The sandal of claim 11 wherein the connector is a hook and loop fastener. 